A Battle of Wills
by Mrs.Firefly
Summary: Hermione is confused over her emotions so she asks for Ginny's help. The two devise a plan. The Result: Laughter and hilarious situations. Rated M for content in later chapters. Edited. Chapter 8 now up.
1. Ch 1  seeking answers

A Battle of Wills

_AN: This one is unbeta'd . I've read it at least 4 times though. Sorry for any typos though, English is not my native language._

_AN2: I forgot to mention some important details: This story takes place during HBP obviously, but it's rather AU. It's not the end of term yet, so Dumbledore is still alive. Not DH compliant for the time being.  
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><p>Chapter 1: Seeking answers<p>

Hermione, in her sixth year, couldn't deny any more that she had started noticing the world outside of academic achievements. She was still an overachiever and none of her peers would ever bother hoping to attain all the knowledge the girl had crammed into her head over the years, but recently Hermione was not as focused as she used to be. To her utter dismay she realized that her usual focus seemed to disappear completely during Transfiguration classes. Not that she wasn't still ahead of her class by at least one lesson but for some strange reason she caught herself staring distractedly at her favourite professor more and more often.

She allowed the issue to bother her for approximately two weeks before she got fed up with it and decided to ask Ginny about it. Even though the girl was two years younger than her, Hermione had to admit that the younger witch knew a lot more about life than she did. Also, Hermione had a hunch where this distraction was coming from and Ginny was bound to know more about what the wizarding society thinks about such things.

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><p>"So what do you have on your mind?" Ginny asked, after she made herself comfortable on Hermione's bed. The girls managed to get the bedroom all to themselves, although Ginny had to threaten Lavender with a Bat-Bogey Hex when the nosy blond tried to negotiate staying in the far side of the room.<p>

"Hold on." Hermione said, casting a silencing charm around their immediate surroundings to make sure no one would be able to eavesdrop on them. The last thing Hermione wanted was another round of gossip about her love life, she had enough of that in her fourth year to last a lifetime.

"Gin... I don't really know where to start. First, you have to promise that you won't think less of me and that you'll keep this a secret." Hermione said sheepishly. She was rather embarrassed about specifically asking her friend to do so but she was nervous beyond words.

"Hermione... What do ye take me for? Lavender? Don't be an idiot, of course I won't tell anyone." Ginny seemed to be lost in thought for a moment and then refocused on the older girl. "Does this have anything to do with your recent... topsy-turvy behaviour?"

Hermione's eyebrows ascended into her hairline at the comment. She tried to act as if she wasn't taken aback by Ginny's insight but failed miserably as she could feel her cheeks heating up.

"What... do you mean by 'topsy-turvy'?" She finally asked.

"Well... I haven't seen you in class per se, but Harry asked me the other day if you were all right." The redhead answered casually. "He said he noticed that more than once you weren't the first to raise your hand, and even caught you sneaking a peek at his book to see where it was opened." By the time Ginny finished she had a huge grin plastered on her face.

"Uhm... well..." Hermione started but the words soon died on her lips. She cleared her throat and filled her lungs with air to get a hold of her nerves. "I think that I'mattractedtosomeone." Ginny stared at her blankly for a moment trying to comprehend what exactly her friend had said and a moment later it hit her. "What? You fancy someone? WHO?"

"Not so loud, you goon!" Hearing her friend's sudden outburst she was very glad she put up the silencing charm.

"Oh come off it... you put up a silencing charm, I could yell every word and no one would hear it." Ginny retorted good-naturedly. "Now spill... who is it?"

"See, that's what I wanted to talk about... Ginny, I really hope you won't think less of me but... is homosexuality accepted in the wizarding world?"

Ginny stayed motionless on the bed for some seconds, absorbing the information her friend had just shared. The normally chatty girl was suddenly lost for words and all she could do was stare at the brunette witch sitting on the other side of the bed nervously chewing on her bottom lip.

The only reason Hermione knew that Ginny was still alive was that she could see the slight rise and fall of her chest. _'Oh GOD, she hates me!' _With each passing moment Hermione grew more and more upset, wondering if she had just wrecked a friendship with her honesty. To her great relief however, Ginny finally spoke up, washing away all her fears.

"Is that ALL? My god, woman... you have to be extremely conservative and ridiculously unintelligent to judge someone because of their sexual orientation... isn't it like that in the muggle world?" Ginny asked, genuinely perplexed.

"Not really. Most people are tolerant but many still consider it to be a mental illness..." Hermione said, her voice suddenly growing sad. This was definitely a conversation she did not want to have with her parents.

"Muggles..." Ginny said, shaking her head in disbelief.

"HEY!"

"You're not a muggle Hermione... just because you were born into a muggle family doesn't make you one. You're a witch."

"My parents are muggles..." She replied, her voice growing even sadder. Ginny's eyes doubled in size when she understood what Hermione was saying. She scooted closer to comfort the girl. "Oh you poor thing. Do you think your parents will react badly?"

"I haven't the faintest idea." There were tears in Hermione's eyes now.

"Well... you don't have to tell them right away, 'Mione. You have plenty of time to come up with something. Perhaps this girl you fancy could help you? Who is it?" Ginny asked, trying to steer the conversation to a less touchy subject.

A single tear escaped from Hermione's eye and she wiped it off her cheek with a rather angry movement. She looked Ginny in the eye without blinking. They stayed like that for almost a minute, Ginny waiting patiently, Hermione trying to compose herself for the revelation. She could feel her cheeks heating up again but she decided it was now or never. "McGonagall."

To say that Ginny was stunned would have been the understatement of the year. Possibly the understatement of the century even. Her jaw dropped all the way down to the kitchens and a great number of emotions were displayed on her face, shock, disbelief and something quite similar to horror among them.

"McGonagall?" Ginny asked when she finally found her voice. "You don't mean... Minerva McGonagall?" She clarified as if the school had been chock-full with McGonagalls. "You're talking about... Minerva bloody I-have-never-laughed-in-my-life McGonagall?" Ginny asked, thunderstruck.

"Do we know of any other McGonagalls?" Hermione asked. Even though Ginny had just insulted her favourite teacher and newfound crush she couldn't help but be amused at her reaction.

"But...but...what is she? Eighty?" Ginny spluttered, still in shock.

"Sixty-one, thank you very much." Hermione retorted, her good mood turning sour rapidly but the remnants of a smile still lingered on her lips.

"Do you even know if she's into women or not?" Ginny asked, curiously. Personally she couldn't imagine Minerva McGonagall with anyone but she wasn't thick enough to think that the woman was asexual.

"No... she could hate lesbians for all I know." Hermione answered, the smile vanishing from her face completely. Her voice grew sad again and a great sigh escaped her lips as she thought about all the reasons why her feelings would most likely remain unrequited.

"Doubt it. Only the aristocratic pricks hung up over blood purity are that thick in the wizarding world." Ginny answered, trying to cheer her strangely moody friend again. Ginny knew this crush had to be serious, Hermione didn't usually have such abrupt mood swings.

"If only I could find out what she thinks without exposing myself..." Hermione said wistfully. Both witches fell into a deep silence, trying to come up with a working plan.

"I've got an idea!" Ginny yelled after a few minutes, startling Hermione so much she nearly jumped off the bed.

They were still deep in conversation when a number of girls demanded entrance into their room and the two young witches decided to move their base to another room, but only after a furious Lavender Brown threatened to complain at their Head of House.

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><p><em>A few days later...<em>

Hermione was not at all sure about the plan Ginny and she had devised a few days ago. Luckily, they came up with the bulk of their plan during the weekend because Hermione was so insecure about her position that she called nearly all points of the plan into question.

Thankfully, Ginny proved to be an extremely patient schemer and after arguing every point well into the night they finally agreed on the course of action they would take.

Hermione's inhibitions fought to surface once again as her legs took her to Minerva McGonagall's office almost of their own accord. She'd been to her Head of House's rooms so often she would have found it even if she was blindfolded.

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><p>Once in front of the portrait she revised all the things she was supposed to say and summoning her Gryffindor courage she allowed a shaky breath past her lips before she knocked.<p>

The portrait opened almost instantly and as she stepped into the familiar room she was greeted with the lovely sight of her diligent professor, sitting at her desk as usual.

The older woman looked up from her paperwork for a moment to acknowledge her guest, whoever it might be, and was pleasantly surprised that her star pupil had decided to pay her a visit again. _'She hasn't been to see me for some weeks. Perhaps I could ask why she's been so distracted lately.' _

Minerva straightened in her chair and only someone paying close attention to her face would have spotted the transformation that took place. She didn't exactly smile at the young girl, nor was it a softening of her features, but her face seemed to warm up somewhat.

"Good evening Miss Granger." She said. Her voice remained mostly professional yet it hit a friendlier tone Minerva had reserved for their private conversations.

"Good evening, Professor." Hermione replied shyly, crossing the room slowly.

"Is everything all right, Miss Granger? It's rather late for a visit, don't you think?" She asked cordially, motioning with her head for the girl to take a seat. However, Hermione remained standing, as if rooted to the spot.

"I'm sorry for disturbing you so late, Professor. I... um... well I was wondering if you could explain something to me. I really can't wrap my mind around it." She said sheepishly, only occasionally glancing at Minerva.

"Of course, take a seat." Minerva said, flashing a rare little smile, something Hermione had cherished even before she recognized her feelings for what they were. "I was beginning to wonder if my lessons weren't challenging enough, you haven't visited me in some time." The older witch cautiously tried to steer the topic of conversation towards Hermione's recent behaviour. She didn't want to alienate the girl but she was genuinely concerned about her well being.

The barely visible smile quickly melted from Minerva's face as the girl's strange behaviour hit her. The girl used to be in her office so often Minerva had noticed that she almost felt at home in it. She hadn't had to ask Hermione to take a seat in quite a while actually, the girl had usually just plopped down either in a chair or on the sofa.

Suddenly growing more concerned than she already was, she stood from her chair and rounded the table to have a closer look at the young witch.

"Whatever is the matter, Miss Granger?" Minerva asked, her green eyes focusing on the girl's face, searching for a sign to clue her in.

"Well... I saw something the other day, Professor, and I was hoping that you could enlighten me." Hermione said after a brief hesitation. "You see, in the muggle world you don't see anything like that on the streets. Or anywhere else for that matter. Or even if you do most people frown upon it."

Realizing that the girl sought her out with a personal issue rather than due to her insatiable curiosity she nodded silently and led the girl to the comfortable sofa near the fireplace.

"What is it Hermione?" She asked, wondering what on earth could have the girl seen that put her in such a perplexed state.

"Well... as I was on my way to Gryffindor Tower the other day I saw t... two Ravenclaws..." Hermione's words faltered as she realized _exactly_ what she was about to discuss with her beloved professor. Accordingly, she suddenly felt her cheeks heat up and knew that her face would be a deep scarlet red within minutes. "erhm... making out." She said the last two words in such a rush that Minerva almost didn't catch them.

For a minute Minerva sat stunned. She couldn't imagine that the girl didn't know anything about kissing. _'And why in the world would she come to ME with it, rather than a friend?'_ Minerva, racking her brain for a suitable answer, tried to recall Hermione's exact words. Suddenly a possible solution presented itself to the transfiguration professor.

"Miss Granger. Do you mean to say that you saw two... girls or perhaps two boys in an intimate situation?" She asked gently, not wanting the girl to think that she was making fun of her.

She certainly knew that the muggle world still had issues with homosexuality. During her forty years of teaching she had an innumerable amount of students who came running to her, either horrified at the sight of same sex couples or in tears due to the atrocious behaviour of some muggle-borns.

Hermione nodded, silently cursing herself for forgetting to mention that bit of information. _'She must have thought I'm some inexperienced sheltered freak. Nice start, Hermione!'_

"Yes, that's what I meant. I'm not... judgemental or anything..." Hermione hastened to point out. "But..."

"Over the many years of my teaching career I've had this very same chat with many students, Hermione. Occasionally even from other houses." Minerva reassured the girl, her amused little smile returning, now that she knew there was nothing seriously wrong with her prized student.

"Other houses? Forgive my question, but do you mean to say that some of the other Heads of Houses are not as tolerant?" Hermione asked, wondering which of her teachers could have a problem with this. The first man that came to her mind was Snape of course.

"Currently? No, not to my knowledge. As far as I know all of the current Hogwarts staff is as open-minded as they can get." Minerva answered, wondering if this was going anywhere. "The incident I'm referring to happened some fifteen years ago. Back then, Slytherin house had a far more conservative Head and there was a young boy who heard from a Gryffindor friend..." At Hermione's sharp intake of breath and stunned expression, Minerva raised an eyebrow. "Don't be so shocked, Miss Granger. Although not as common as it ought to be, Gryffindor and Slytherin students occasionally do form friendships. With usually disastrous results where Hufflepuff House is concerned." Minerva said, her eyes betraying disapproval. "Anyway, as you probably well know yourself, I've gained a bit of a reputation for handling these delicate matters, it's only natural that those students who are a wee bit doubtful of their own Heads would turn to me."

_'What does she mean she gained a reputation for handling these situations?'_Hermione was more than a bit surprised at what she was gathering about her Professor. "Um... Professor? What kind of reputation were you talking about just a minute ago?"

Minerva was rather perplexed. _'If she doesn't know... how on Earth did she think of asking ME of all people? Why not any of her friends?'_

"Hermione, might I ask what gave you the idea to come to me with this matter? I was quite sure that you've heard the rumours but it is fairly clear that I'm mistaken..." the older witch asked, her curiosity now piqued. Unfortunately for Minerva, that meant she had to find out.

The one thing she detested about her Animagus form being a cat is that her natural curiosity combined with that of a cat made it very hard for her to leave a mystery unsolved. In fact, one of the reasons for her infamous stoicism and reserved nature was that she had to come up with a defence mechanism against some of her horrid cat traits. If she didn't allow herself to get too interested in her students on a personal level she couldn't drive herself crazy with inappropriate curiosity either.

One student, out of two throughout her teaching career, with whom she didn't stick to her own rules was sitting next to her with a thoroughly confused expression on her face. The ageing Transfiguration professor couldn't help but favour the girl, she was, after all, the pride of the whole school, and in HER house. Not to mention Minerva had the pleasure of finding herself in surprisingly enjoyable conversations and debates with the young girl, in whom she discovered enough compassion and friendliness to rival her intelligence.

"Honestly Professor? Nothing prompted me..." Hermione lied without blinking or looking away. She hated lying to her professor like that but she needed to find out as much as she could and this new bit of information might prove useful in her quest.

"I came to you with this question because you... well you were sort of the obvious choice. I've always come to you, regardless of the nature of the question, I didn't see why I should change that." Hermione tried to justify the previous fib by telling herself that the latter statement would have been true if she had not had an ulterior motive.

Minerva, not being privy to the younger girl's inner turmoil, inwardly smiled at the barely masked compliment. "I trust this conversation won't leave this room?" She finally asked, looking seriously into the girl's eyes. She was about to confirm something nearly no one knew for sure. Most students spread rumours about it and some of the teachers had hinted at it as well but only Albus and Poppy knew. Hermione nodded vigorously.

"The reason students frequently come to me with such questions is that a part of the rumour I previously hinted at says that I myself am attracted to my own sex." Hermione held her breath, not daring to exhale the air, lest she should sabotage the moment somehow. "Funnily enough, those who spread it, either out of spite or because they find it an entertaining story, have no idea that they're actually spreading the truth."

"There's a rumour about you being a lesbian?" Hermione yelped incredulously. The moment the words were out of her mouth she wished she could haven taken them back."I'm sorry!" Instinctively she slapped her hand over her lips, a look of pure horror appeared in her eyes as she waited for her Professor to respond to her outburst. _'Please don't be upset! Please don't be upset!'_

Minerva McGonagall, seeing the terrified expression on Hermione's face, combined with how hilarious the older witch thought Hermione's reaction was, did something she had never done in the presence of a student: she burst out laughing.

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><p>"Good GOD, I needed that. Haven't had such a good laugh in years." Minerva said after she managed to calm down enough to speak. "Hermione. You MUST promise me, that you will, under no circumstances, tell ANYONE, of what you just witnessed." She suddenly turned serious again, as if her previous mirth hadn't existed at all.<p>

"I promise!" Hermione squeaked, this time voicing her promise confidently, knowing full well that she will be able to keep this one. The young witch thought that her professor's laugher was absolutely enchanting. Inwardly she immediately vowed to guard the memory for as long as she lived, not wanting to share even the knowledge of such a divine sound with anyone.

After idly chatting for a few more minutes she excused herself, almost tripping over herself to get to Gryffindor Tower, where the younger redhead witch was eagerly waiting her news.

To be continued...

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><p>Did you like it? Or no? Please let me know! :)<p> 


	2. Ch 2  Seeking Minerva's Attention

_AN: I've updated the Author's Notes in the first chapter. Please read them, I forgot some important details. Ta._

_AN2: Hasn't been beta read but I checked for typos quite thoroughly. If any remained then my apologies._ _(Please let me know if my unbeta'd stories are not up to par language-wise.) _

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><p>Chapter 2: Seeking Minerva's Attention<p>

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><p><em>One week later...<em>

"Ginny... I don't think this is going to work." Hermione began to protest when the redhead revealed the details of her plan.

"Of course it will! If anyone can pull it off, it's you! Why wouldn't it work?" Ginny asked, her tone and expression sceptical.

"Ginny, I can't hex myself and then tell Minerva that it was someone else!" Hermione exclaimed.

Ginny, misinterpreting her friend's concern, crossed her arms in front of her chest and gave her a flat look. "Well you've already broken your promise not to tell anyone that she finally confirmed the rumours. I reckon another little fib won't hurt?"

Hermione let out an exasperated sigh. She wasn't at all happy about being reminded of breaking a promise to Minerva. "That's not the point, Gin! What would I do if she wanted to see my memory?" Seeing Ginny's confused expression the brunette hastened to elaborate. "Dumbledore has a Pensieve remember? If I tell them that someone attacked me they'll want to see my memories regarding the incident."

"Oh!" Ginny frowned, trying to think of a way to overcome this particular difficulty.

"What if you couldn't see your attacker?"

"What?"

"What if you said you only heard the incantation but you were hexed from behind?" Ginny clarified.

"Gin, Harry said that the Pensieve doesn't work like that. It will be my memory but they won't be completely restricted to seeing what I saw. And besides... even if I said that I still can't hex myself..."

"All right. So I'll do it." The younger witch replied casually.

"What, you'll cast a spell on me?" Hermione asked incredulously. "You can't do that Ginny! You could even be expelled for that!"

"Only if I get caught." Ginny answered with a cheeky grin forming on her lips. "Think about it Hermione. All we need to do is stage it carefully. I could borrow Harry's cloak. That way there'll be no trace of me in your memory." Ginny explained with a victorious grin. "We just need to make sure McGonagall is near so she'd be the one to find you rather than Snape." The redhead couldn't help but giggle at Hermione's horrified expression.

After a moment the brunette witch spoke up. "That's easy. If you're going to nip Harry's cloak you might as well 'borrow' the map too."

"Nip it?" Ginny asked, frowning. She would have preferred asking for it, in case Harry needed it as well. "Why can't I ask him to lend it to me?"

"Because our professors aren't stupid, Gin. If an invisible person attacks me Dumbledore is bound to ask Harry if he hasn't lost his cloak recently." Hermione replied in a matter-of-fact tone. The answer, however, only served to confuse Ginny even more.

"So? All the more reason why Harry should know about it. That way he can back us up!"

"Still, I'd rather he didn't know about it. Not yet anyway. He has enough on his mind, I don't want to burden him with this as well."

"How about a Disillusionment Charm then? Or an Invisibility Charm?" Ginny tried negotiating. She really didn't like the idea of taking Harry's cloak without telling him. Hermione thought about it for a moment but eventually shook her head. "That won't work Ginny. You can't hide the map if you only turn yourself invisible. And turning the map invisible would kind of defeat its purpose..."

Frowning harder the younger witch sighed. Dropping the issue of asking or not for the time being, Ginny summed up the planned action."So then... I 'borrow' the cloak and the map. We wait until only McGonagall is close by, I cast the spell on you, run off and then it's up to you." By the time she finished she felt quite giddy. She was a true Gryffindor, just like her brothers, and for the right reasons she was always willing to risk being caught breaking the rules.

"That sounds very nice Ginny... but we still haven't figured out which spell to use. We can't just use a simple Vanishing Spell. Minerva's giving me private Transfiguration lessons because I'm so ahead of the others that the in-class tasks are hardly challenging for me. She'll wonder why I didn't just transfigure some clothes for myself." Hermione reminded her friend. She was rather annoyed at herself for not being able to come up with a spell her transfiguration professor wouldn't find suspicious.

"See, I've been thinking about that." Ginny replied almost instantly. She was rather proud of her idea and secretly she was very pleased with herself for thinking about it. "What if we used two simple spells instead of one complicated spell?"

Hermione furrowed her eyebrows. She couldn't see how using two spells would convince their professor that she couldn't break it on her own.

"I was thinking of the Imperturbable Charm." Ginny carried on with her explanation before her friend could object. "I thought it would work because if I vanish your clothes your wand falls to the floor. And... well you've been through a lot more than most of us, but that doesn't make you a trained Auror. I'm sure McGonagall wouldn't find it strange if you were more interested in your lack of clothing than in your wand's whereabouts." Ginny had tried to explain her whole idea in one go, not wanting to give Hermione a chance to object before she could finish. However, she ran out of breath far too soon, but to her great surprise Hermione didn't say a word. She had a curious expression on her face. "Anyway. This is where the Imperturbable Charm comes in. Your wand is on the floor, and if someone casts that charm on you, you won't be able to pick it up. And I don't suppose McGonagall expects you to be able do wandless magic, right?"

Hermione was completely speechless. She stared at her friend in silent wonder, all the while racking her brain for a possible mishap, but she could find none. She had to admit that Ginny's idea was absolutely brilliant. _'Why didn't I think of that?'_

"Ginny, that's bloody brilliant!" Hermione said finally, smirking as she saw the girl's barely masked pride at outwitting her. "Although I would like to add that I actually CAN do wandless magic."

"WHAT?" Ginny yelped rather loudly.

"Nothing major though." Hermione hastened to add, not wanting to ruin the redhead's triumph completely. "So far the only spell I've been able to do without a wand is the Levitating charm."

Ginny arched an eyebrow, amused at Hermione's modesty, but she was still impressed with her. Only a dozen or so witches and wizards were known to be able to do wandless magic. The two witches spent the remaining time before dinner trying to figure out how to borrow Harry's cloak and the Marauder's map without anyone seeing them.

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><p>Hermione silently thanked every deity she could think of for allowing her to fall for someone who was known for her punctuality. She knew that the strict Transfiguration Professor always began her rounds exactly the minute curfew began. She also knew for a fact that the corridor on which Minerva's office was would be completely deserted long before curfew. Not many of her peers would dare to risk angering Minerva McGonagall.<p>

What neither girls had thought of was that the hallways of the stone castle would be freezing at night, especially in Hermione's state of undress. She still couldn't remember when she allowed herself to be talked into this ridiculously insane idea. She was shivering in front of her beloved Professor's office without a stitch of clothing on, her body only covered by a floating piece of a curtain that was 'accidentally' lying on the floor in the hallway, most likely torn off by Peeves.

Hermione didn't have to wait more than five minutes, she didn't dare to come sooner lest someone other than Minerva should find her, yet she was chilled to the bones. She also hadn't anticipated the fact that the cold would interfere with her ability to do wandless magic. _'Damn cold... Minerva... what the hell's keeping you so long..'_

After the piece of cloth hiding her from view nearly dropped to the floor Hermione closed her eyes, putting more effort into concentrating on the Levitating Charm. Not wanting to expose herself to anyone who might accidentally wander into the hallway, Hermione was concentrating so hard on the charm that she failed to hear to barely audible creak of Minerva's office door.

The older witch stepped out of her office, ready to make her rounds. Due to her Animagus traits her eyes had no problem adapting to the dark corridor and she immediately spotted the floating piece of cloth just outside her office. Both her eyebrows ascended into her hairline at the strange sight and she instinctively reached for her wand.

As she crept closer she could see that the material was a bit of torn curtain from one of the castle's windows and she also noticed that it seemed to be floating around someone. Holding her wand firmly in her right hand, the tip pointed at the curtain, she slowly reached for a visibly shaking edge to part it. _'If this is a prank the one behind the curtain will wish they had never been born.' _Minerva thought, her temper stirring.

She was prepared for nearly anything except the sight she was presented with. Her eyes grew wide with disbelief as she spotted Hermione Granger. For a moment Minerva was speechless. The girl's eyes were screwed shut, her lips were slightly blue and she was visibly shaking.

"Miss Granger!" Minerva squeaked the girl's name when she finally found her voice.

Hermione's eyes instantly popped wide open, she had been concentrating so hard she was startled out of her wits by the sudden exclamation. To her dismay, her fright broke her focus on the spell and the heavy material of the curtain fell to the floor with a soft thud.

Minerva's eyes nearly popped out of her head at the sight of a very naked and apparently very curvaceous Hermione Granger. Forgetting herself for a minute, the older witch could do nothing but stare at the girl. Her eyes travelled from pert round breasts across a flat and well toned stomach to shapely thighs and back. The woman couldn't help but notice the goosebumps on creamy skin, nor did she fail to see that the girl's pink nipples seemed to be painfully erect. Suddenly realizing that she's been staring at her student's luscious body for the past minute or so, Minerva tore her eyes away from the sight to meet Hermione's stunned brown orbs. She noticed that despite the cold Hermione's face had managed to turn to a pale pink colour.

The older witch's brain finally caught up with the moment and she ushered the young woman inside her office. With one flick of her wand she created a roaring fire, with another she summoned a blanket which she tried to drape over the girl's shoulder but to her surprise it bounced off her skin.

"Im-im-per-pper-ba-ble..." Hermione tried to explain but her teeth were chattering so violently she couldn't form the words. _'I'm going to KILL Ginny.' _ Hermione had never been so embarrassed in her life. The one thing that kept her from passing out there and then was the memory of her Professor's face when the piece of cloth dropped to the floor. Even if she was going to die of embarrassment in a matter of minutes she knew she had achieved her goal. She could clearly see that Minerva had noticed her as a woman. In fact, the older witch couldn't tear her gaze from her curves for over a minute.

Hermione also noticed that Minerva didn't seem to trust her eyes any more. Not being able to cover the girl with the blanket she finally decided to levitate it around her just like Hermione had done with the piece of cloth. To both witch's relief the blazing fire managed to warm the shivering girl in a matter of minutes. Preparing herself for an awkward conversation, Hermione drew in a deep breath.

"Professor, the... the reason you co-couldn't put the blanket around my shoulders is that there's an Im-Imperturbable Charm on me."

Minerva, cursing herself for not recognizing it, immediately ended the charm. "And would you mind telling me exactly why were running around naked with an Imperturbable Charm placed on your body?"A perplexed professor asked. "_After_ curfew?" She added with some emphasis.

"Well not out of my own free will." Hermione stated the obvious, pulling the blanked tighter around her body. "I was on my way to your office actually. Fully clothed... when suddenly my clothes were hit by a Vanishing Spell. Before I even had time to react the Imperturbable Charm was cast over me as well." _'Well... so far I hadn't lied. Ginny really cast the spells quickly.'_

For the second time in less than fifteen minutes Minerva was stunned speechless. _'Who in Merlin's name would pull such a prank?'_ Her mind reeled, trying to absorb the information and come up with a suitable answer but none came.

"And you didn't see your attacker?" She finally asked.

"No, I didn't see anyone. Not even a retreating figure. I stared into the darkness for minutes and nothing moved." Hermione replied, inwardly trying to convince herself that she still hadn't lied.

Suddenly something occurred to Minerva and her eyes narrowed. '_No...surely this isn't...'_ She didn't even want to finish the thought, but there were a number of strange factors she had to investigate.

"Where did you leave your wand, Miss Granger?" She asked, trying to gauge the girl's reaction.

"In the hallway, by the side of the wall. I probably should get it, I left it lying there with a couple of books." Hermione took a step towards the office door but Minerva stopped her.

"Not dressed like that you won't." She told her. Quickly transfiguring some of the pillows on her sofa into proper clothes she added "You can dress in there." She pointed at one of the doors at the far side of the room. "Meanwhile I shall collect your belongings and inspect the scene. Which corridor was it exactly?"

"This one. I just turned onto this hallway from the adjoining one when the first spell hit me." Hermione replied.

"Very well. Get dressed and stay in my office. I shall return soon." Minerva said and made a beeline for the door, welcoming the cool air that suddenly surrounded her.

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><p>To be continued...<p>

Don't forget to review! I live for your feedback!


	3. Ch 3  The Spell

Dear All: Thank you for the kind words, they mean a lot to me! :) Hope you enjoy!

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><p>Chapter 3:<p>

_One week later..._

Once again a week had passed and Hermione was getting frustrated with certain aspects of Ginny's plan. What probably upset her the most was that she couldn't even bitch about it. She knew from the start that convincing Minerva McGonagall that a liaison with a student is a good idea would take a long time. But it's been three weeks now and they've barely made progress.

Another reason why Hermione couldn't complain was that she herself was responsible for the minor setback, as well as the current predicament she found herself in. At first she felt extremely uncomfortable with the idea of casting a spell on Minerva. She told Ginny that it was one thing to cast different spells on herself and lie about them, but putting their esteemed professor under a spell was altogether different. They wasted days in the library, poring over books and brainstorming late into the night but they couldn't come up with a more suitable alternative. Finally Hermione gave in but she refused to allow Ginny to cast the spell on Minerva without testing it first.

It had been three days and two nights ago that Ginny first cast the 'Influenced Dream Spell' on Hermione and it's effects were quite literally driving her up the wall. Hermione was adamant about having the spell cast on her, wanting to experience first hand what exactly it does to it's target before using it. According to the instructions they found in an obscure book in the restricted section, the caster, in this case Ginny, was to focus on a person while casting the spell. As a result, the targeted witch or wizard was supposed to have rather intense dreams about the person whom the caster had focused on.

The two witches noted with relief that the act of casting the spell was nearly undetectable as the only indication to the spell being performed was that the tip of Ginny's wand flashed a pale yellowish-green for a moment.

As suspected, during the day it had absolutely no effect, only having control over the target's dreams. During the night, however, as Hermione found out, the book really hadn't exaggerated when it said that the spell had _intense _effects_._ Hermione's prime concern was that the caster's opinion of the focus would interfere with the dreams.

To test her theory, she asked Ginny to cast the spell anew each night, while trying to associate Minerva with different emotions. On the first two nights it had been an assortment of negative emotions such as fear, indignation, a feeling of unjustness and so on. On the third night, Ginny tried for a completely neutral and standard respect allotted to teachers in general, as if she had not known Minerva McGonagall personally. Hermione didn't expect to experience anything different but she wanted to make sure nothing would go wrong.

On the up side, much to Hermione's relief, none of the attempts to manipulate the dreams through emotions worked. During the first two nights Hermione had highly erotic dreams about her beloved professor, filled with love and passion, but completely devoid of all emotions Ginny tried to channel. On the downside, however, Hermione was growing extremely frustrated, thanks to the vivid imagery of her dreams.

Despite casting a silencing charm around her bed each night, Hermione was far too modest to relieve herself in the bedroom where her mates were sleeping, which left her tossing and turning in an aroused state quite close to agony. On the third night, however, she couldn't take it any more and snuck out in the middle of the night to take refuge in the Prefects' Bathroom.

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><p>After warding the door of the bathroom just in case someone else decided to take a late night shower, Hermione filled the swimming pool-sized bathtub with hot water and lavender bathing oil. Disrobing quickly she slipped into the tub and let out a moan of satisfaction as the water caressed her skin. Closing her eyes she willed her body to relax but that plan was quickly abandoned as the memory of her dreams about Minerva invaded her mind.<p>

As her mind recalled a particularly hot and heavy episode, featuring the two witches in a passionate scene, Hermione moved her hands to caress her breasts, imitating Minerva's movements from her dream. Twitching an already painfully erect nipple with one hand she allowed the other hand to snake across her stomach lazily until she reached the apex of her thighs, the contact ripping another deep moan from her lips. Experienced fingers quickly found all her sweet spots and in a matter of minutes Hermione was moaning and groaning Minerva's name with abandon, writhing with enough intensity to splash water everywhere. Imagining the older witch squirming beneath her own body sent her into a passionate frenzy and she came with what would have been a glass shattering scream had she not bitten down on her bottom lip at the last moment.

Hermione lost count of her orgasms after half a dozen, only realizing how late it was when she saw through the window that the night sky exchanged it's inky colour for a lighter shade of blue. Not wanting to be caught out of bed, Hermione quickly got dressed and headed towards Gryffindor Tower, feeling much more relaxed if not altogether sated.

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><p>"ARE YOU INSANE?" Ginny yelped in surprise when Hermione asked her to perform the spell on their professor three times. "YOU were the one all upset about the spell in the first place and now you want me to do it three times?" Ginny asked, rewarding her friend with a disbelieving stare.<p>

"Well now that I've experienced it and I know it won't muck about with her feelings towards me I don't mind it that much." Hermione said truthfully. "I reread the book on it and found a footnote we missed. It said that it has a greater effect if administered multiple times with the same focus in mind." She added, a curious expression appearing on her face. "Although I could have told you that much from personal experience as well..."

Too preoccupied with her new mission Ginny disregarded Hermione's last comment. "But HOW am I supposed to get near enough THREE times to do it without being spotted or overheard?" she asked, exasperated with her friend for proposing a new twist to their already dangerous plan.

"Well... I've been thinking about that. You said making her a bit jealous wouldn't hurt. I thought you could stick close to me for a few days, see if that causes a reaction. I'm quite confident that I could distract her long enough for you to do the spell." Hermione said, her voice reinforcing the confidence her words suggested.

"If we get busted I'm going to kill you." Ginny said finally. "If mum doesn't find your first..." She added a moment later. Hermione's confidence wavered a moment, a furious Molly Weasley could be a potential health hazard but she decided to risk it.

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><p><em>The next day...<em>

Not much was out of order during Transfigurations the next day. As usual, Hermione answered most of the questions, secretly trying to assess the older witch's behaviour. Minerva McGonagall, however, was not so easily read. The woman was her usual stoic self, holding the attention of her class with a firm grip, disciplining disruptive young witches and wizards with her trademark stare, occasionally even resorting to brilliantly worded remarks designed to knock students down a peg or two.

As everyone expected, Hermione was the first to finish the assigned tasks. But after she helped Harry finish them as well she didn't quite know what to do. Usually Minerva glided over to her desk with a book or a higher level assignment that was sure to raise a million questions in Hermione's keen mind. This time, however, much to the young witch's disappointment and worry her professor did not save her from half an hour's boredom. _'She's not avoiding me. The others must be doing really bad today. That's why she doesn't have time to give me extra tasks. She's not upset. Nope, she's not distancing herself at all.'_ Thoughts were entering and fleeing the girl's mind at an alarming pace and her mood seemed to change with them as well.

She did not dare to stare openly at Minerva, fearing that her Animagus senses would pick up on it. Sneaking short glances, Hermione tried to reason with herself, seeing the woman moving back and forth between tables, correcting mistakes and explaining things as she went. _'See? She's very busy.'_ Hermione tried to convince herself. _'I'll have to talk to her after class anyway. I need to distract her for Ginny.'_

Noting that there were only ten minutes left of the class, Hermione mentally prepared herself for the role she would be playing. She had to distract Minerva long enough for Ginny to cast the spell while hinting at her supposed relationship with the redhead witch without being obvious.

Her classmates groaned with disapproval as they jotted down the homework Minerva assigned them for next week. As they filtered out of the room Hermione took her time, waiting for all of them to leave. Harry gave her a questioning look but she shook her head, telling him not to wait up. Shrugging, Harry rushed off to Quidditch practice, leaving the brunette witch alone with Minerva.

The older witch was sitting at her table, finishing up her paperwork when the girl approached her. _'Don't be late Ginny, please don't be late.'_ She mentally pleaded her friend. As she reached the professor's desk, the woman looked up, her keen ears easily picking up the sound of familiar footsteps.

"Ahh, Miss Granger." She acknowledged her favourite student, her face going under the barely perceptible transformation that was reserved for Hermione. Their eyes connected for a moment and neither of them spoke. Hermione didn't dare blink lest she should miss any aspect of her crush's behaviour.

"Do you wish to discuss something already?" Minerva finally asked, the shadow of a smirk lingering on her lips.

The young witch frowned in confusion. "Actually Professor, I was wondering if you've prepared any additional tasks for me today? You didn't give me anything to do after I transfigured my turtle into a kitten."

Minerva's eyes widened in surprise, and she immediately looked to her left, spying a book under a stack of parchments. "Oh. I'm sorry Miss Granger, it must have slipped my mind." She said idly and retrieved the book. "I've been teaching for forty years yet I've never stopped dreading the teaching of kitten transformations. Undoubtedly due to my Animagus form being a cat, I am particularly sensitive to kittens." She said. "I cannot stand to look at the mangled little cubs so I tend to forget everything except correcting and explaining during these classes." She added truthfully and an exceptionally rare, apologetic smile appeared on her lips for a moment.

"I don't blame you." Hermione replied, frowning as she remembered the three legged creature Harry's first try resulted in. The poor thing really looked pathetic with its missing whiskers and uneven fur.

"Would you like me to transfigure them back for you?" She asked the older witch. Minerva, instead of replying, raised an eyebrow in amusement. "I mean... so that you wouldn't have to deal with them." Hermione explained sheepishly.

Minerva noted with some surprise that she was strangely touched by the girl's thoughtfulness. Thinking about it for a moment she decided that she could do without that particular chore and she nodded in agreement. "I would be grateful for the help, Miss Granger."

_To be continued..._

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><p><em>Please leave a review, my muse LOVES reading what you think :))<br>_


	4. Ch 4  The first night

AN: Sorry for the late update, I have a LOT of schoolwork on my hands at the moment. I'll try to post at least once a week though :)

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><p>Chapter 4:<p>

After Hermione transfigured the last sorry excuse for a kitten back to it's original form she glanced nervously in the direction of the open classroom door. It had been some fifteen minutes since the class had ended and her friend was still nowhere to be seen. Not having anything left to do she slowly made her way back to Minerva's desk.

"All done, professor." She said, all the while trying to come up with something to converse about, hoping that Ginny would arrive soon.

"Thank you, Miss Granger. That was very thoughtful of you." Minerva replied, noting Hermione's uneasiness with some surprise. "Is something the matter, Miss Granger? You seem... I can't quite put my finger on it... as if you were waiting for someone maybe?" She asked, her hellish curiosity rearing it's head again.

Hermione's cheeks yet again turned a soft shade of pink. She wondered how her Professor had managed to overlook the fact that she blushed more and more around her. _'Or did she overlook? Maybe she just doesn't want to embarrass me even more...'_

As if on cue, Ginny burst through the door, saving Hermione from a very awkward situation. Both witches looked at her with stunned expressions, the elder surprised at her presence in general, the younger surprised at her lack of stealth. _'What is she doing?' _A voice inside Hermione's head screamed and she tried to glare at her friend without Minerva noticing.

"Good afternoon, Professor McGonagall!" Ginny said, as she approached the duo. Stopping at Hermione's side the redhead witch turned to the younger of the two. "'Mione, where've you been? I've been looking all over for you!" She asked, grinning at her mischievously. Then, without any warning, she snaked an arm around the shocked girl's waist and turned so she could face a thoroughly perplexed Minerva McGonagall as well but kept her gaze on Hermione.

"I reckon you've been here all this time, chatting about some devilishly complicated Transfiguration theory I have no hopes of understanding?" She asked, her voice slightly teasing but there was no malice in it. She made sure both of them understood that she was merely joking.

Even though she had absolutely nothing to gain from their plot, except perhaps a reputation for being a lesbian, Ginny was delighted to see that her actions indeed had an effect on the usually stoic Professor. Not the one she would have chosen but it was a start.

The older witch seemed genuinely surprised at the level of intimacy that seemed to be between her students. _'Hermione and Miss Weasley?'_ She pondered, putting a strange emotion aside for the time being, intent on meditating on it later. _'Well, well... no wonder the girl was so nervous a minute ago. Who would have thought... and here I was, assuming that Miss Weasley was keen on Potter of all people. Guess the girl has taste after all... wait WHAT?'_ Minerva mentally slapped herself for allowing that particular thought to take form in her head.

The two young witches facing her were almost completely oblivious to the war Minerva's thoughts were waging on her. Hermione was still busy trying to figure out what exactly her friend was up to, while Ginny acknowledged Minerva's rather confused expression with an amused smile.

_'Ah she probably thinks she surprised me with the nature of their relationship... not completely incorrect if I want to be honest...'_ Minerva mused, momentarily forgetting that she's been engaged in conversation. She was brought back to reality by the sound of the younger witch's voice.

"Well... I hope you don't mind if I steal Hermione now, Professor?" She asked, her tone intentionally suggestive. "We've got a LOT of things to discuss." She giggled and pulled a stunned Hermione away from their professor.

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><p>Once they were a safe distance away from the Transfiguration room Hermione jerked her arm out of Ginny's hand. "What in heaven's name was THAT about?" She asked, nearly yelling.<p>

Ginny just grinned at her annoyed friend with satisfaction. "That... was me being bloody brilliant! Didn't you see the face McGonagall made when I put an arm around you? She was completely taken off guard! You just better hope that her dreams will be about you rather than you and me." She answered, her satisfaction with her performance growing by the minute.

"Dreams? What? You cast the spell? When did you do it?" Hermione asked, slowly putting the pieces of the puzzle together.

"While you were busy transfiguring cats... I used the cloak again. I figured that this way she'll never suspect you of doing anything. You were otherwise engaged at the moment..." Ginny explained.

"So... you burst into the room like a maniac because...?"

"Because I didn't want to be suspicious either!" Ginny exclaimed, not understanding why her normally brilliant friend was being so thick.

"But now she's going to think there's something between us!" Hermione exclaimed, not at all happy with this new development.

"And isn't that what we wanted?" Ginny retorted. "If you really caught her interest that other day she'll be very keen on you after a few days."

"I bloody well hope so, after all this embarrassment..." Hermione grumbled.

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><p><em>Later that night...<em>

Minerva McGonagall was going through the usual motions of preparing for bed after a long and tiresome day. After donning her nightgown she took the pins out of her by now legendary bun, allowing her hair to spill down her back, the tips nearly reaching her waistline. After she braided her hair into a loose plait she padded over to her desk barefooted.

There was a glass of purple liquid waiting for her. _'If I told anyone how thoughtful Severus could be they'd either think I'm insane or never let him live it down...'_ Minerva thought absentmindedly as she eyed the Dreamless Sleep Potion that was left there by the dark haired Potions Master.

Throughout her teaching career, each year the Animagus had asked the Potions Masters of Hogwarts to brew her the Dreamless Sleep Potion when it was time for her to teach the transfiguration of cats. She herself was most surprised when one day, about ten years ago, she went down to Severus Snape's chambers to ask him the very same thing and he had presented the already finished potion to her. Since then she needn't have bothered with asking. Severus, who was reputed to be quite a foul man, had remembered her request and on the appropriate nights a goblet of the potion would be on her desk by night.

_'I won't be needing that tonight thank the gods... no scratch that... thanks to Hermione Granger.' _She thought, her mind subconsciously wandering back to the scene she witnessed in her classroom a few hours ago. _'Hermione and Miss Weasley... how strange.'_ For a split second she could feel a pang of... something she couldn't quite place. Her first thought was jealousy or envy but she quickly dismissed the idea. _'Why the bloody hell would I be envious or jealous of either of them?'_ She asked herself as she made her way to her bed.

The goblet on the table remained untouched.

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><p><em>Minerva was lounging on the sofa in her office, a book in her lap and a cup of nice strong tea on the nearby table. She was enjoying the rare Sunday afternoon when she didn't have to deal with anything. <em>

_Her thoughts were interrupted when someone knocked on her door. She rose from her comfortable place on the sofa, wondering who her visitor could be. When she opened the door she wasn't too surprised to see Hermione standing there. She's about the only student in the castle who would visit her on a weekend. _

"_Miss Granger." She greeted her warmly. "What brings you to my chambers on such a lovely afternoon?" She asked. _

"_The lovely afternoon brings me actually." The girl answered, looking her professor straight in the eyes. "I couldn't help but think about you, so I decided to pay a little visit." She continued, stepping closer to the older witch. _

_It was only now that Minerva noticed Hermione's strange choice of clothing. The day was rather warm yet the girl had her outer robes wrapped securely around her frame. _

_Minerva arched an eyebrow at the strange admission. "And what exactly have you been thinking about me, Miss Granger?" She asked. _

_Hermione had chosen this moment to undo the knot that held her robe in place and gently shook her shoulders, which made her robes fall to the carpeted floor with a soft thud. _

_Minerva's jaw closely followed the item, as she could now see that the girl was completely naked under it. _

"_Miss Granger!" She exclaimed and her eyes grew even wider as Hermione crossed the room, stopping a mere foot from her. Try as she might, Minerva couldn't tear her gaze from the vision in front of her. Her eager eyes roamed the length of the girl's body, the experience made painful by the knowledge that her hands were not supposed to follow suit. Minerva felt her mouth suddenly go dry and all she could do was stare at the spectacular view she was presented with. _

"_Do you like what you see, Professor?" the brunette witch asked in a seductive tone. She took a step closer and eliminating the last few inches between them, she snaked a hand behind the stunned Transfiguration professor's neck and pulled her down for what she intended to be a scorching kiss. _

_Minerva couldn't have uttered a word even if her life had depended on it. She was helplessly under the power of the gorgeous siren in front of her and she found herself anticipating the kiss. Minerva licked her dry lips, and closed her eyes, just as plump pink lips were about the descend on hers..._

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><p>Just as plump pink lips were about the descend on hers, her eyes suddenly popped open and she stared into the darkness of her bedroom, thoroughly bewildered. <em>'What the bloody hell?'<em> She tried to sit up in bed and noted that the sheets were tangled around her body, which, as she suddenly realized, was covered in sweat. "What in Merlin's name did I just dream?" She asked out loud.

Covering her face with both hands the witch groaned in frustration. In vain did she try to go back to sleep, uncannily vivid images of her unclothed student assaulted her mind each time she dared to close her eyes.

_To be continued..._

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><p><em>Did you like it? Click that button below and let me know :) <em>

_P.S. I know this dream wasn't too intense yet, but we all know that the spell gains strength if it's cast more than once, right? ;)  
><em>


	5. Ch 5  The first twist The second night

AN: I'm sorry for the (very very) late update! I've had TONNS of school work to deal with and hadn't had time to write :s

During the spring I won't be able to update every week because of my Spanish classes and research work but I'll try to update at least twice a month. But it's worth the wait, I still have at least two chapters to this story.

Enjoy!

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><p>Chapter 5:<p>

_The next day... _

Hermione nearly tripped over herself as she ran across corridors to get to the Transfiguration classroom in time. She wanted to be the first one to enter, a vague sort of hope filling her heart. She had been anxious about class ever since Ginny told her during breakfast that she had removed the spell.

Glad to see that no one was there yet she stopped at the door for a minute to catch her breath. _'Keep calm... keep calm... she doesn't know it was you. YOU don't even know if IT happened...'_ Hermione silently reasoned with herself. After taking and exhaling a deep breath she pushed open the door and stepped into the seemingly unoccupied classroom.

Scanning the chamber quickly Hermione spotted her beloved Professor staring out the window. _'Must be lost in some thought... there's no way she wouldn't have heard my footsteps if she had been alert... I hope it's me she's thinking about...'_ the young witch mused as she made her way to Minerva's side.

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><p>'<em>Minerva you old fool! Get a grip of yourself. She's only a student. A third of my age for Merlin's sake!' <em>Hermione hadn't hoped in vain, it indeed was her on Minerva's mind, although not entirely the way she would have wanted it. The ageing Professor was busy trying to get rid of the tantalizing memories of her student's body that were engraved into her mind since that fateful night. When said student stepped up to her Minerva caught the movement from the corner of her eye and her head snapped to the left in surprise.

"Miss Granger!" Was all she managed to squeak. Ever since breakfast Minerva had been busy steeling herself for this moment. She couldn't allow herself any slip-ups lest the girl should be traumatized by her advances. She knew that she could not be sent to Azkaban if she was found out. The girl had come of age according to Wizarding laws a few months ago, but that didn't mean it couldn't cost her her career. After all the young witch was still in her sixth year and an affair with a student – even one of age – was still illegal. _'Wait what... how the hell did I go from trying to compose myself to wondering about an affair with her...gods I have to deal with this fast.'_

Noticing the curious expression on Hermione's face Minerva divined that the girl must have asked a question while she wasn't listening. "I'm sorry Miss Granger, I was lost in thought... did you ask something?"

"Yes Professor." Hermione answered, trying to keep her tone as neutral as possible, not wanting to reveal the giddiness that suddenly overcame her. "I asked if you were all right?" Hermione noted that her Professor was troubled by something and wondered if the reason was a certain dream she hoped Minerva had or because of the kitten transformations which were on schedule for that day as well. _'Only one way to find out.'_ A sudden burst of bravery filled the younger witch's heart and she stepped closer. "I know we still have kitten transformations for today. I've already done the spell correctly several times. I even helped Harry do it right. I was... wondering if you'd perhaps like a hand?" And the moment the word 'hand' left her lips her fingertips tentatively connected with the older witch's hand that was resting on the windowsill.

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><p>Minerva was startled by the bold movement but for a few guilty seconds she allowed herself to enjoy the contact. Silky soft skin caressed her own, the tips of Hermione's fingers making their way across her knuckles until the girl had her hand wrapped around hers. For a moment Minerva felt the urge to embrace the girl and never let her go. But as quickly as the thought formed in her head she squashed it and snatched her hand away.<p>

A cold and sickening feeling suddenly engulfed the younger witch as she realized with horror that she might have overstepped a boundary. "I'm... I'm sorry Professor!" Hermione stammered out an apology and rushed from Minerva's side. The Animagus turned on her heels to go after the girl and tell her that it was not her fault but to her dismay before she could even call after Hermione the door opened and the rest of the class slowly entered the room.

While Minerva was extremely passionate about her subject and Hermione was only a shade behind her in enthusiasm, that day's double Transfiguration felt like torture to both witches. Not having much to do Hermione started helping the students immediately surrounding her and tried not to take notice of Minerva occasionally listening in on her explanations.

As soon as class ended the young witch rushed out of the room. In fact she was the first one out the door before the older woman had time to speak to her.

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><p>"Gods Ginny, I'm such an idiot! I'm sure she hates me!" Hermione cried miserably. She was fairly sure her favourite professor was upset with her.<p>

"Oh come on 'Mione! It's not the end of the world, love. All you did was touch her hand? That's nothing to be upset for! You're like...her most favourite student or something, she's not going to suddenly hate you because you touched her." Ginny tried to make Hermione see reason but to no avail.

The two girls were occupying a usually unused classroom, Hermione sitting on one of the desks. Ginny had borrowed the map again, this time asking first, to make sure that none of the prefects were around. Since He-who-must-not-be-named's return some of the prefects had become rather uneasy and quite literally became rule-nazis as some of the muggle-borns called them. Technically speaking they weren't supposed to be in that classroom.

"You should have seen her Gin... one moment her eyes were all unfocused and the next she pulled her hand away as if my touch had burned or something..." Hermione was absolutely devastated and the redhead had a hard time cheering her friend.

"Well you said she didn't pull away immediately... that must mean something! And what about the rest of the class? Did she look at you? Did she smile? Or scowl? Anything?"

"I don't know..." Hermione admitted sheepishly. "I sort of...did my best to ignore her. I didn't dare face her."

"Oh Hermione... for someone so bright you can sure as hell be thick sometimes..." Ginny said, slightly doubting if the cat and mouse game of love would be something her otherwise brilliant friend could master.

Movement on the map caught her eye and she noticed that the professor in question was walking down the hallway on which the classroom they were in was as well. Ginny glanced at Hermione, who was busy blowing her nose, then back at the map and as Minerva passed the last other door on the hallway it became obvious that the older witch was a mere few seconds away from entering the room. A very bold and potentially risky idea formed in Ginny's head. She quickly pocketed the map and she grabbed one of Hermione's wrists. "I'm sorry 'Mione. This is for your own good."

Before Hermione could say a word she felt herself pulled off the table and pushed against its edge, and a surprisingly strong arm was wrapped around her waist. The brunette witch was even more stunned when she suddenly felt Ginny's fingers pressed to her lips to silence her. She heard her friend mutter 'don't say a word!' hurriedly.

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><p>Minerva McGonagall, seeking some supplies she had kept in the unused classroom, opened the door and was struck speechless at the sight that greeted her. Two students, whom she recognized as HER students, were in the room in a rather compromising situation.<p>

She could see a head of bushy brown hair that was only too familiar to mistake for anyone else's. In a second the older witch realized that she had walked in on none other than Hermione Granger and Ginerva Weasley.

The girls seemed to be oblivious to her presence as they were snuggled up quite closely, Hermione's lean body was sandwiched between a table and Ginny. The younger witch had an arm around the brunette while Hermione's hands were nowhere in sight. From Minerva's position they seemed to be in a rather intense lip-lock.

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><p>When they heard the door open Ginny had to tighten her hold on her friend to stop her from pushing her away. Luckily Ginny managed to trap both of Hermione's hands between their bodies so she had the upper hand. Their lips were only separated by the younger girl's fingers between them. They stared into each other's eyes, Ginny's pleading for cooperation and quite possibly for forgiveness, while Hermione's expression was confused and stunned.<p>

* * *

><p>Composing herself after the shock, Minerva could feel her body heating up to an uncomfortable level as her jealousy and anger tried to escape her will. She could feel her upper lip quivering with effort as she tried to overcome the urge to snarl at the sight.<p>

Minerva nearly won the battle against her instincts but when she saw Ginny shifting her hand lower on Hermione's back the green-eyed monster within engulfed her. She took a few quick steps forward and the words were out of her mouth before she had time to consider them.

"Weasley! Granger!" The tone she normally reserved for troublemakers became even more menacing as it was now coloured with a possessive jealousy that not even Minerva had known existed.

The two girls sprang apart immediately. Inwardly Ginny was somewhat relieved, she didn't know how she would have kept up that act if their professor had not found her voice in the next few seconds. On the surface, however, she looked exactly like someone who had been caught with their hand in the cookie jar.

Hermione, on the other hand, wasn't acting. As she had not seen the map she had no idea Minerva was about to walk into the classroom and was genuinely shocked to see her quite literally towering over them.

"What are you two doing here?" Minerva tried to control her voice but she was seething on the inside. Neither of them knew how to answer that question without bringing more trouble down on their heads so both girls remained silent.

"Detention. Both of you!" Minerva growled. In her head she tried to justify her actions but all of her reasons sounded like flimsy excuses to cover her jealousy.

With a horrified expression on her face Hermione turned to Ginny and gave her an angry questioning look. All the younger witch could do was stare back with a look of disbelief. She had been expecting a lot of things but never had she suspected that Minerva would give them detention. _'Wow she really must be pissed...'_

For a moment Minerva glanced at Ginny and growled. "Gryffindor Tower. Right now." Both girls made a move for door.

"Not so fast Miss Granger. I need a word with you." Hermione visibly gulped and as their eyes locked in an intense staring contest, Hermione obviously scared, Minerva still struggling with her unwanted emotions, neither of them noticed Ginny's wand flashing yellow for a moment before she ran out of the room.

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><p><em>Ten minutes later...<em>

"GINNY!" Hermione's voice thundered in the common room of Gryffindor Tower as the brunette witch climbed inside. The ginger witch had been waiting for her friend, anticipating her anger. The common room was emptied in record time, none of the Gryffindors were particularly keen on finding themselves on the receiving end of a nasty hex.

"What the bloody hell was THAT about?" Hermione didn't even bother to lower her voice. Her face was still a deep shade of red, the embarrassing words of her professor were still ringing in her ears.

Casting a silencing charm around them Ginny tried her best to explain her reasons.

"I'm sorry about that Hermione. But I needed a distraction to cast the second spell."

"Secon... second spell?" Hermione stuttered, clearly stunned. "You cast the spell again? Are you mental? She was so angry with us she'll probably dream about flogging me or something!"

Even though Ginny knew that she was still not out of the hot water she couldn't help but laugh.

"And you're telling me that I'M the mental one? Hermione... don't you have eyes? She was so angry because she was jealous!" Hermione's rant was cut short as she now stood speechless.

"Gosh, didn't you see? She was nearly blind with jealousy!" Ginny said, her mood considerably eased as she could now see her friend's anger disappearing.

* * *

><p>Minerva McGonagall was pacing in her office so furiously that every few minutes she had to stop or change course because the motion was making her dizzy.<p>

"Irresponsible." She murmured under her breath, trying to convince herself that she was more upset because of their reckless behaviour rather than because she was jealous of the youngest Weasley for having such liberties with Hermione. '_Making out... bloody careless... touching her... the immodesty of it! Her hands all over her body... in a damn classroom without any sort of protection or alarms... touching her...'_

Minerva of course was almost as upset with herself as she was with the girls. Try as she might she could not get rid of her thoughts of Hermione. She had no alternative but to accept the fact that she was hopelessly lusting after a student. _'I wonder if there's such a thing as an Anti-lust potion...'_

* * *

><p><em>Later that night... <em>

Hermione was lying on her back, staring at the ceiling, wondering what her professor was doing at that very moment. She was still somewhat upset with Ginny for that scene in the classroom, but she couldn't help giving in to the hope that sparked inside her heart. _'What if she WAS jealous? Could... could there be a chance for us?'_ She wondered silently.

* * *

><p><em>"Detention. Both of you!" Minerva growled, trying to ignore her feral instincts that were whispering tempting ideas into her ear. <em>

_For a moment Minerva glanced at Ginny and spat. "Gryffindor Tower. Right now." Both girls made a move for door. _

"_Not so fast Miss Granger. I need a word with you." As the younger Gryffindor practically ran out of the room the Animagus took a step towards Hermione. "What. Exactly. Have. You. Been. Doing. Here?" Minerva asked, pressing out each word between her teeth individually. _

_She was impossibly jealous and angry, yet she couldn't help feeling the regret that was creeping into her heart as she saw tears welling up in the brunette girl's eyes. "I'm sorry... I'm sorry professor. I couldn't... help it." _

"_Couldn't help what?" Minerva asked, thoroughly confused. She had been expecting a great number of excuses but not this. Hermione looked at her with watery eyes, the inner conflict between hiding her tear-stained face and looking the older witch in the eyes evident in her expression. _

"_Venting my frustrations. I know that the one woman I'm really after would never have me... but I need to let out this pent up energy or it will consume me." Hermione explained, her eyes betrayed both her fear and her anticipation of the question Minerva was bound to ask. _

"_Who?" Came the simple, yet inevitable question. _

"_You." Came the equally simple answer. Minerva barely dared to believe what she had heard. As common as a simple 'you' was she hadn't dared to hope she'd ever hear it in this particular context, from this particular witch. _

_Before she could ponder further she felt herself moving, her inner cat taking control of her actions and within a second her lips were deliciously pressed against Hermione's. Soft, plump lips caressed her own while timid hands glided up her arms to circle her neck. It took the older witch's mind a few seconds to catch up with the moment but when it did she almost exploded with emotion. The length of the young witch's body was pressed against her snugly in a passionate embrace, her hands trying to free her hair from her bun. _

_Deciding that it was now or never Minerva allowed her hands to roam all over Hermione's body, swiftly undressing the girl, desperately needing to feel the young, creamy skin under her fingers. But just as her hands made contact with the naked hips of the brunette witch, Hermione pulled away. _

_To Minerva's utter dismay and shock, Hermione, naked as she was, started to back out of the classroom. "Not yet dearest... not yet." She whispered as she faded away. _

_With a jerk Minerva sat up in bed, panting slightly, confused eyes trying to make sense of the change of scenery. "ARGH!" Minerva let out an anguished howl as she realized that she had been dreaming again. 'Gods, what am I going to do?' _

* * *

><p>To be continued...<p>

Let me know what you think! With the amount of work I've got cut out for me all the encouragement you can send my way is appreciated! :)


	6. ch 6 Revelations in Detention

AN1: First off, I owe an apology to those to whom I promised to upload this by Sunday... I had a game Saturday night (I play handball) and sprained my right elbow so typing and controlling the touchpad was a bitch...

AN2: I'd like to thank everyone for being so amazingly patient with me. I hope this update makes up for the long wait! Enjoy and please review!

* * *

><p>Chapter 6:<p>

The next day the girls promptly appeared at the deputy Headmistress' office after classes. They took every opportunity to discuss their current predicament but neither of them was wiser by the afternoon so they resolved to leave their fate to chance.

Hermione nervously knocked on the door, Ginny fidgeting next to her, sharing her friend's uneasiness. As the door creaked open on its own the two girls stepped in. Normally Hermione loved coming to Minerva's office but today each step further into the office felt like torture.

Minerva looked up from her paperwork, taking in the anxious looks plastered on her students' faces. Resisting the temptation to raise an eyebrow she rested her eyes on the young witches silently, with an unreadable expression.

"Good afternoon, Professor." Ginny finally squeaked.

"Good afternoon, ladies." Minerva answered casually. "I presume you are here for your detentions?"

The girls shared a confused look, both wondering why Minerva was acting so strangely but finally they both nodded without a word.

"Very well. Miss Granger, due to the circumstances... and the reason for your lack of judgement... I think it wise to separate the two of you... you will be serving your detention with me." Minerva said, trying to sound as official and stern as she normally is but the little voice screaming inside her head made it difficult.

_'Lack of judgement, eh? Minerva you're not fooling anyone with this act!'_ The persistent little voice had been mocking her all day long, pointing out to her how obvious her affections were.

Steeling herself against her inner tormentor, Minerva finished her final decision with as little emotion showing as possible. "Miss Weasley... you will be serving your detention with Professor Sprout. She is waiting for you at Greenhouse 5."

A look of horror crossed Ginny's face for a moment. She had heard terrible stories from the students whom Professor Sprout decided to put to work at Greenhouse 5.

"But...but Professor...that's..." Ginny began to protest meekly but Minerva, growing annoyed, cut her off immediately.

"Would you rather serve your detention with Professor Snape?" She asked almost coldly. _'Hah... if THAT isn't the anger of a jealous lover then I don't know what is...' _The voice sang gleefully in her head. "I would be glad to send him an owl if you find that arrangement more suitable..."

"NO!" Ginny yelped in terror. The worst possible chore the Herbology teacher could come up with would seem like a treat compared to even the easiest tasks the Potions Master tended to hand out. "I mean... no, Professor, I'll go to Professor Sprout immediately." And within a few seconds Ginny was out of the door, racing towards the greenhouses.

Hermione couldn't blame her friend for running away like that. She probably would have done the same if she had to choose between the two teachers. However, she was stuck in her favourite professor's office right now, trying to look innocent but failing miserably. _'How the bloody hell is Ginny going to cast the third spell if she can't even come near us?' _Hermione wondered while waiting for Minerva to assign a task for her.

* * *

><p>Because Minerva was so hard-working she was at a bit of a loss for tasks as her office was as neat as it could get. But she was hell-bent on keeping the brunette witch in her office. She tried to tell herself that it was for the girl's own good but even she didn't believe that flimsy excuse. Eventually she ended up asking Hermione to put all of the books she didn't need any more back in the bookcase. Without her wand of course, to make the task reasonably boring.<p>

After Hermione had finished re-shelving all of Minerva's books in alphabetical order and organized all the corrected essays she had nothing much to do. Minerva's office was in perfectly fine order as usual and nothing needed tidying or transforming. After a few minutes Minerva allowed a sigh to escape her lips and she finally put her quill down.

"Miss Granger. Would you mind making some tea?" She asked, mentally readying herself for the next few minutes.

_'I wonder what's up with her...' _Hermione mused as she busied herself with the teapot._ 'All of the so called chores I was to do today were so...lacking.'_ Even though Hermione had never been on the receiving end of a nasty detention personally she had heard the rumours and shelving books certainly didn't even come near them.

Minerva, on her part, remained detached and emotionless on the outside. On the inside, however, her instincts and her cast-iron moral sense were engaged in a fierce duel.

'_You bloody fool... either do something or let her off already! You're embarrassing yourself...'_ As the minutes passed the voice inside her head became more and more nasty. _'At least talk to her... unless of course you prefer to be viewed as an ageing fool...' _As the thought of her prized student thinking her an old fool entered her mind Minerva snapped her head up.

Hermione, who was inspecting a glass that seemed to be filled with some kind of a potion, was startled so much by the sudden movement that she nearly knocked the globet off Minerva's desk.

"I'm... sorry Professor, I didn't mean to... I was just curious about this... potion." Hermione mumbled an apology, believing that her beloved teacher jerked upright because she trespassed on her privacy.

Perceiving her discomfort, Minerva twitched and not wanting her student to be afraid of her tried to soften her features.

"Dreamless Sleep potion, Miss Granger." Minerva said, allowing the smallest of smiles to appear on her lips.

_'She did not just say dreamless sleep...' _Hermione thought. "Dr-dreamless sleep?" She finally asked. "Why would you need that?" She hoped against hope that she would not get the reply she dreaded she would.

* * *

><p>For a moment Minerva did not reply, instead she focused her attention on Hermione's features. <em>'How strange... she almost looks scared... or is that horrified? What on Earth is up with you? Why would you be so worried about my dreams?' <em>

"The cats, Hermione." She finally answered. Throughout her explanation she never took her eyes off the girl's face, she wanted to see if the young witch would reveal her secret. "After I first taught kitten transformations I had ghastly nightmares so I took to drinking this potion each year during this period." The Animagus shuddered at the mere thought of the horrid images that kept her awake in her first year of teaching at Hogwarts.

To her great surprise, Minerva, for a split second, could see relief flash in Hermione's eyes. Suddenly all the dots connected inside Minerva's head and a strange idea took form in her mind.

_'No... this cannot be true... Hermione... are YOU responsible for these bloody dreams I've been having? But how? And WHY?' _Minerva thought. _'I need to find out more.' _

Preparing herself for some painful revelations Minerva sat down on her sofa with a cup of tea and patted the free space next to her.

The younger witch, a bit suspicious of the sudden change in her teacher's mood, accepted the invitation.

Deciding that the bold question echoing inside her head wasn't much of a threat to her Minerva raised her cup to hide her smirk behind it.

"So, Miss Granger. Might I ask how it came to be _Miss _Weasley? I always thought you'd be interested in _Mr. _Weasley."

The question surprised Hermione so much that she nearly choked on her tea as she tried to keep herself from spitting the mouthful all over Minerva. After a few unsuccessful attempts she finally managed to swallow the liquid without suffocating in the process. As she wiped her lips clean she wondered whether her professor's boldness surprised her more or the insinuation that she'd be interested in Ron.

"Excuse me Professor, but... well... I guess I wasn't anticipating that question. Um... Ron's a really nice guy but... I think of him more as a brother I guess. Plus I wouldn't want to hurt his feelings but I'm more into the intellectual type." Hermione answered honestly.

At this remark Minerva had considerable issues containing her mirth and she had to bite her lower lip to keep herself from laughing out loud again. Even if she _was_ in the company of Hermione she preferred to keep her stoic image for the time being. However, as she lowered her cup she allowed an impish grin to form on her lips, her confidence boosted by Hermione's admission.

"Oh in that case... would you be so kind as to enlighten me about Krum's and McLaggen's hidden intellect?"

Hermione, who was not as experienced in the art of concealing one's emotions as Minerva was, burst out laughing. She realized that her professor was in one of her exceptionally rare, chatty moods and was teasing rather than interrogating her. The younger witch could feel her tense nerves relax as she settled more comfortably on the sofa, all the while thinking about how to answer the question. She had a hunch that her professor was fishing for something but she couldn't quite figure out what she might be after. She finally settled for the carefully constructed half-truths that she told the Animagus in her day dreams a thousand times.

"Distractions, professor. Well... Victor was a distraction anyway. I've had this huge crush on a certain witch. And at first it was strange because in the muggle world homosexuality isn't really accepted. So I tried dating Victor to get over her. He was actually kind of sweet, but he really wasn't talkative enough for me. And Cormac... gosh... that was just stupid... I knew she wouldn't approve of him and I wanted to get a rise out of her."

Minerva processed the words and all their possible meanings, desperately looking for tell-tale signs.

"Apparently it seemed to work." She finally remarked.

_'Huh? It did? What?_'Minerva, without her knowing, managed to confuse Hermione who, for a moment, forgot that she's supposed to be in a relationship with Ginny. _'She didn't even say anything about him. Not that I needed any extra... I got hell for dating him from Harry and Gin...OH. Ginny. Right. She was supposed to be my girlfriend.'_

"Um... professor...?" Hermione never finished her question. She was stalling for time; her brain going into overdrive as she tried to weigh the pros and cons of her next question. _'I wasn't put into Gryffindor for nothing! I have to try this!' _

"Yes, Hermione?"

"If I tell you something... can you promise to keep it a secret?" Hermione asked, her cheeks colouring a bit.

"Oh Hermione... what kind of a question is that? Of course I will. Do you honestly think so many students would have come to me with such delicate issues if I hadn't been able to keep their secrets?" Minerva asked, partially offended by Hermione's lack of trust.

The younger witch realized her faux pas and immediately tried to explain her mistake. "I didn't mean to offend you, Professor. It's just that... I don't want to hurt Ginny either. You see... if I want to be completely honest with myself I have to admit that even Ginny is only a distraction." Hermione said, staring into her cup. She didn't dare to look her professor in the eyes lest she should be discovered. She was dangerously close to revealing herself and she knew she couldn't do that. _'Not that this isn't true... I only forgot to mention that Ginny is supposed to distract her rather than me.'_

"I see." Was all Minerva replied. She stood up from the sofa. This time she was the one stalling for time. "Would you like some more tea?"

"Yes, please!" Hermione answered, grateful for the distraction.

* * *

><p><em>'All right Hermione. You've given me your clues... now all I have to do is find the missing pieces.'<em> Minerva pondered as she prepared a pot of tea.

"_So... she's a witch...who is intelligent enough to meet your standards... that considerably shrinks the possibilities... and it's not Miss Weasley... could be a Ravenclaw... unfortunately they're a lot smarter than some of my lionesses..."_

Sitting back on the sofa, a few inches closer to the girl than she previously was, Minerva contemplated her next move but eventually her curiosity got the better of her.

"So who is this unattainable witch?" She asked casually.

* * *

><p>To be continued...<p>

AN3: I know... I know I'm being unreasonably cruel with this cliff... but I promise to update this week! Due to the national holiday in Hungary my Spanish classes will only continue next week so I'll have plenty of time to write!

Please let me know if you liked this chapter. (With this new twist I came up with I'm guessing there'll be about 2 or 3 more chapters.)


	7. Ch 7 The tension Builds

Author's note: I'm really terribly sorry for this delay. I'm not going to start making excuses because there really is none to offer after 15 months of absence. At first I got caught up with my university work, then I had writers block...and then I just couldn't find the proper mind-frame for writing. I hope this latest installment isn't a sorry compensation for the long wait. Do let me know if it was worth the wait. :)

Also, I owe a great big thank you to anyone of my old readers (and new ones as well of course) who come back to this story after such a long time and especially to those who even decide to reward me with a comment for not abandoning this story completely.

Enjoy!

Chapter 7: The tension builds 

"So who is this unattainable witch?" She asked casually.

Hermione nearly chocked on the bit of air that got stuck in her throat half way down. '_Sweet Merlin! I must be the biggest idiot in history. How the bloody hell am I supposed to answer that question?'_

The very fact that Hermione didn't anticipate that her tentative plan could backfire so much reveals what state her professor put her in, but to make the situation worse she could feel her brain freezing over and she stumbled over her words.

"Um...khm...well" She cleared her throat, trying to stutter out a reply.

The emotional overload of the night was beginning to take its toll on Minerva, and she could not contain the involuntary twitches of her shoulder muscles. Maintaining her emotionless mask purely due to her cast iron will she held her breath, her cup conveniently placed close to her lips to hide the majority of her facial expressions.

_'Say my name!_' Screamed the unheeding voice inside Minerva's head, sounding more and more like a hormonal teenager, much to the ageing witch's annoyance.

Both witches felt suspended in time, as if they had been staring at each other for minutes, when in reality a mere few seconds had passed and the rapid succession of events nearly startled them both out of their wits.

Student and teacher snapped their heads in the direction of the door which unceremoniously burst open without any warning. The next thing that could be heard, besides the angry roar of Severus Snape was Minerva's painful yelp. The witch had accidentally shattered the delicate cup in her hands and much to Hermione's horror a rather large shard was sticking out of the deputy headmistress' bleeding palm, just below her thumb.

"Professor!" Hermione squeaked, and, half forgetting that they had an audience, jumped to Minerva's side.

Professor Snape, momentarily halted by the sight of blood, dragged a miserable looking seventh year Gryffindor into the office.

Annoyed with her colleague, both for disturbing their moment and for tormenting her students, Minerva managed to scowl at the Potions Master for the briefest of moments before hissing in pain.

Hermione tried touching it, tried pulling the shard out but it was embedded in her palm too deeply. "I'll get Madam Pomfrey!" Hermione offered a little too hastily. She was worried about her favourite professor but if she wanted to be truthful she had to admit she was grateful for the distraction.

"You'll do no such thing, Miss Granger!" Minerva answered, her voice a little more strained and stern than she intended it to be. Turning to her severe looking colleague she said, "Severus, would you mind flooing for Poppy?" Then added, "That would be much faster." Almost as if trying to justify why she detained the curly haired witch kneeling at her side.

"Certainly, Minerva." Severus replied. "In the meanwhile, could you explain to Mr. Smith here what he nearly committed when trying to slip Red Currant Rum to one of the house-elves?"

To the boy's credit, when Minerva snapped her head in his direction, he looked sufficiently guilty. Hermione could hear her potions master's satisfied snort before the blazing green flames engulfed him.

"You did WHAT, Mr. Smith?" Minerva asked angrily, and Hermione couldn't figure out whether her bleeding hand enhanced or ruined the effect her stare had on the seventh year student.

"I...I..." He stammered.

"Nearly killed a house-elf!" Minerva exclaimed, standing up. "Two weeks detention with Professor Snape, Smith! And should you survive those two weeks you will report to Madam Pomfrey and you shall be tending to sick house-elves until the summer break."

The poor boy went from pale to ghostly white within seconds and Hermione wondered if he was going to faint. 'Suits him just fine! Giving rum to a house-elf...' Hermione grumbled under her breath, all the while admiring her professor even more for standing up for the unfortunate creature.

"Oh, and Smith," Minerva called out, just before the boy reached her office door. "You will do well to listen to Madam Pomfrey. If I hear of just one incident where an elf was harmed due to your inattention, I assure you, you will wish to spend some of your detention with Mr. Filch after the chores I'll give you."

The boy meekly nodded in understanding and shamelessly made a run for it, just at the same moment Severus Snape reappeared with Madam Pomfrey at his heels.

Rushing to her side, Madam Pomfrey patched up Minerva's hand in a matter of minutes, all the while scolding the deputy Headmistress good-naturedly.

"Mr. Smith...?" Professor Snape asked.

"Will report to you tomorrow, first thing after classes, for two weeks' detention." Minerva replied briskly.

"Good." He replied and was nearly out the door, but in the last minute he turned back. "Next time take better care of your hand, Professor."

Once the door was closed behind him, Minerva rolled her eyes in Hermione's direction. "That was him apologizing in case the accident was his fault. It would have killed him to say the words though." She said in a happy tone, trying to lighten the mood. She could already feel the air crackling around them with tension.

"So...before we were interrupted, you were saying...?" Minerva finally asked, knowing that it was cruel to drag the topic back up but she was desperate to find out the answer.

Hermione, feeling cornered, didn't know how to answer, but to her relief they were interrupted a second time. This time there was no commotion, only three firm knocks on the door, much to Minerva's annoyance, and the opening door revealed a suitably tired looking and dirty Ginny Weasley.

"Weasley. What are YOU doing here?" Minerva asked, her voice bordering on incredulous after the second interruption.

Ginny was so taken off guard by the question and manner of her Transfigurations professor that she couldn't formulate a coherent thought for a moment.

"Professor Sprout sent me back up. She said we were done for the day." Glancing in Hermione's direction, who was standing in an angle so Minerva couldn't see her, she quickly put two plus two together, seeing the immense amount of relief wash over her best friend's features.

Faking a yawn, Herminone stepped in Minerva's line of sight. "Are we done as well, Professor? I was hoping to get a bit of studying out of the way before going to bed." She added.

Growling in frustration, Minerva nodded in defeat. "Yes, we're done, Miss Granger."

"Do we need to report to you after class tomorrow as well?" She asked, making her way to the sofa where she left her books, forcing the Transfigurations Professor to turn her back to Ginny to answer the question.

"No." She answered, then waited for Hermione to join Ginny before continuing. "But I do NOT want to find you in a similar situation, especially in places where you have no reason to be loitering." She said, satisfied with the amount of stern control she managed to pump into her voice. _'Yeeeeah, you sounded only a LITTLE bit like you were dying of jealousy...'_ The voice in her head teased.

Once they were out of earshot Ginny stopped Hermione in her tracks. "So spill it! What happened?"

"Not here, you lunatic! Snape could be running about, the last thing I want is to be dragged back into Minerva's office by him..." The curly-haired witch whispered harshly.

They made it back to Gryffindor Tower without any unwanted adventures and Ginny cast a silencing charm around them almost as soon as they were through the entrance hole.

"So what happened? You looked like you were about to faint!" Ginny began interrogating her friend.

"She was so... WEIRD!" Hermione said as she tried to make heads or tails out of her encounter with the aging headmistress. "She wasn't hard on me at all... giving me pretense chores like...rearranging her bookshelves."

"Damn, I wish I had it that easy with Sprout. She made me trim Mandrake seedlings all afternoon..." Ginny whined. "I have at least a dozen Mandrake bites..."

"We ended up talking, and she cornered me into telling her whom I was crushing on..." Hermione continued, unfazed by her friend's interruption.

"WHAT?" Ginny yelped. "And what did you say?"

"Nothing." Hermione admitted. "I was so shocked...and scared... I had no idea how to get out of that mess. So much for being a Gryffindor, eh?"

"Okay, so then what happened? You two were acting kind of strange when I arrived..." Ginny said, a grin forming on her face. "You actually never looked so relieved to see me before. And McGonagall was looking pissed as hell." It was Hermione's turn to grin at her friend's use of muggle slang.

"Oh that was because you were the _second_ person to interrupt us. Snape stormed in with Peter Smith in tow about twenty minutes before you." Hermione answered grimly, her mood souring at the thought of her reckless house mate who nearly killed an elf.

"What did he do?"

"He nearly poisoned a house-elf with rum..." Hermione growled, annoyance clear in her brown eyes. "He got two weeks detention with Snape. Serves him right."

Ginny's eyes doubled in surprise. She knew how protective Hermione was about elves and was rather surprised that Smith was still breathing, although after two weeks with Snape she wouldn't be surprised if he himself would marvel at being alive.

"So what now?" Ginny asked. "I did cast the spell a third time... but..."

"You cast the spell again? Good god, when?" Hermione couldn't believe her friend's guts.

"While her back was turned on me." Ginny replied, a very self-satisfied grin gracing her lips. "You just hope that she won't figure it out..."

Minerva sat on the couch, staring into the fire blazing in her fireplace, with a glass of firewhisky in her hand. '_So it really is Hermione... and she convinced Weasley to help her as well... should have seen it coming, that girl takes after her brothers.' _She mused absentmindedly, pondering her options. "Well Miss Granger, two can play that game..." She muttered to herself as she stood. Draining the remainder of her firewhisky, the deputy Headmistress stepped out of her chambers, determined to find an answer to her question.

_To be continued..._


	8. Ch8 Revenge is Sweet

Author's note1: At one point in this chapter there will be a scene for which I suggest you listen a song for which I provided a link below. However, I would suggest only opening the link when you arrive to the appropriate scene so as to not spoil the surprise.  watch?v=VoUV5d09JZw (Although I have never supplied a link in a fanfic yet, so if this doesn't work, I included the artist and the title at the bottom of this chapter, so can google it for yourself.)

Enjoy!

_Chapter 8: Revenge is Sweet_

Severus Snape looked up from the pile of parchments on his desk when he heard a soft puff, indicating that an elf had apparated into his office. Spotting the tiny creature he immediately recognized it as one of Minerva's.

"Good evening Professor Snape." Said the little creature, whose name Severus had great difficulty remembering. He acknowledged the elf with a nod.

The elf trotted up to his desk and reaching behind the tea towel draped around her body she pulled out an envelope. "Mistress Minerva asked Minky to give this letter to Severus Snape."

After dispatching the message Minky vanished into thin air again. Severus opened the letter and quickly scanned the contents of the brief message.

_Severus, _

_I would like to call in on an old favour. While I could make the potion myself, I would much rather trust it upon your expertise. The target is roughly 5 feet 5 inches, 120 pounds, female. The potion I would like is... _

Severus' eyebrows flew to his hairline when he realized that Minerva was most likely asking him to conjure a potion for a student._ 'Well, well... I wonder who this might be, Minerva.' _Finishing the letter he noted that the requested potion shouldn't take him more than two or three hours to brew, and looking at the grandfather clock in his study, he concluded that he had some time before he had to get started, therefore he turned back to the pile of papers on his desk. 'A what? A bee ore? Who is this bloody idiot?' He grumbled, glancing at the name at the top of the parchment, then crossed out the offending expression and wrote 'BEZOAR' with capital letters on the margin.

Next day...

Ginny dreaded walking up to Minerva, but seeing no other choice, ran as fast as she could. '_After all, she IS our head of house...besides she can't know about the spells... it's just my bad conscience speaking...' _

Being the middle of the day, her office door was open for all, therefore Ginny did not need prior permission to enter. Bursting in through the open doorway she exclaimed "Professor McGonagall" as she tried to catch her breath.

Minerva looked up from her book and was mildly surprised to see Ginny Weasley standing in front of her, struggling to catch her breath while trying to talk at the same time. _'Hm, I wonder... I hope you don't expect me to be fooled again...' _Minerva thought, making a mental note to somehow punish the young Gryffindor without making a spectacle out of it.

"Yes, Miss Weasley?" She asked, not a hint of emotion in her voice.

"Uh... I... it's Hermione. I think... something is very wrong... with her." Ginny managed to pant out between breaths.

Minerva, straightening up in her chair leaned forward. '_This had better not be some kind of trick.' _

"What is the problem?"

"Well, she hasn't gotten out of her bed since yesterday morning."

"Is she sick?" Minerva asked, setting her suspicion aside for the time being. "And has Poppy been alerted yet?"

"I don't think she's sick professor. Her voice seems normal, but she won't leave her bed. Nor will she let anyone see her, she keeps her curtains charmed closed at all times." Ginny said, concern lacing her voice. "At first we just thought she needed some privacy. But she hasn't left her bed in over twenty four hours."

Upon hearing the rather mysterious details of the situation, Minerva immediately stood from her desk, determined to get to the bottom of it. '_What on earth is the meaning of this, Hermione?'_

Upon entering the Gryffindor common room Minerva noted that it was completely empty. Being a warm sunny day outside she didn't think anything of it, figuring that most of her cubs were probably enjoying the weather outside.

Swiftly crossing the large room, she ascended the stairs rapidly, making a beeline for the 6th year girl's dormitory.

The raven haired witch was just about to knock on the door when her animagus senses, combined with the privileges of being the deputy headmistress, kicked in. '_Additional magic...'_ She mused. _'There is some magic at work in this room, besides Hogwarts' own magic.'_

For lack of a better word, she tentatively tried to taste the flavour of the magic to determine what spell might be in place. _'Definitely a restricting spell...' _Worry and a sense of responsibility overriding her suspicious nature, she decided it must be the charm Ginny Weasley mentioned, and stepped into the room without another thought.

Moving swiftly, she realized that something was seriously amiss only after taking half a dozen steps into the room. Looking back at the door she caught the last glimpse of a bluish hue enveloping the door frame. _'Locking me inside, eh, Miss Weasley?'_ Minerva realized the redhead girl's intention. _'We'll just have to see about that now, won't we...'_

Walking up to the only bed with its curtains tightly closed, she yanked them open, immediately understanding that there was no charm on the bed whatsoever. She expected to find more mischief, perhaps Hermione waiting with what could be a potentially embarrassing surprise and instead found one innocently sleeping Hermione Granger._ 'Although innocent is a rather relative term...'_

The young witch was in a twisted position, with her back flat on the bed, while her hips were partially turned to the side, one leg only slightly bent at the knee, the other pulled up towards her stomach. One hand was resting on her stomach, the other next to her on the bed, her hair covering half of her face._ 'Nothing appears to be out of the ordinary, the girl is merely taking a nap...' _She thought.

Assessing the situation quickly, a hand disappeared inside her robes and as soon as Minerva gripped her wand, it emitted a soft yellowish-greenish light, straight toward the unsuspecting girl. Turning on her heels she marched toward the door, with the shadow of the proverbial cat's grin on her lips as she waived her wand again, and the door albeit charmed to be closed from the outside, transformed into a pile of dust, only to immediately form back into a door once the transfiguration professor had stepped over it.

"Miss Weasley!" came Minerva's stern voice, addressing the young witch, who stood with her mouth hanging wide open as she witnessed her Transfiguration professor's effortless escape from the locked room.

"I do believe your actions beg for a week end's detention. This time with me..." She said, stopping not more than three feet away from Ginny.

"But..." the redhead started, but was immediately cut off.

"One word, Miss Weasley, and I am taking points away as well. I assume you don't want to be explaining that to your house mates now, do you?"

Shaking her head rapidly, Ginny stayed silent.

"As I suspected. Then it is a forward march to my office, your detention beings as of this moment." Minerva answered, nasty tasks already popping up into her head. Ginny opened her mouth to complain that there is a quidditch game in less than two hours but upon seeing the unheeding expression on her professor's face she changed her mind. _'After all... it's only Ravenclaw vs. Slytherin. I can survive not watching...' _

Turning her back on Minerva, Ginny began leaving the room, her shoulders dropped in defeat and she never noticed the silent spell that hit her square in the back.

"Where have you been all day Ginny?" Harry asked several hours later. "We've been looking all over for you, you even missed the game!"

"I was at McGonagall's..." Ginny said sourly, sparing a sideways glance in Hermione's direction to let her know that she would explain in more detail later. "I was in detention..."

_later in an abandoned classroom..._

"YOU WHAT?" Hermione yelped, utterly shocked at her friend's guts.

"I only meant to help..." Ginny said defensively. "How was I supposed to know that she would bloody go and turn the damn door into ashes..."

"Oh I don't know... maybe because she's one of the five highest level Transfiguration Masters in the world?" Hermione countered.

"Blimey!" Ginny's eyes grew twice their natural size when the reality of the situation finally sunk in. "How the hell was I supposed to know that?" She sulked.

"You know...if only people would bother to read _'Hogwarts, a History_' this would not happen half as many times..." Hermione grumbled under her breath, not understanding how her schoolmates did not realize what an intriguing book they are missing and the crazy amount of useful information stashed inside it. _'Maybe it had been jinxed by the teachers to make most students not want to read it...' _she idly thought, as she crossed the room and dropped down into one of the chairs, burying her face in her palms as she tried to figure out what to do about the sudden mess.

_later that night..._

Minerva sat idly on her sofa, with a glass of firewhisky in her hand, musing about the events of the past few days. '_So the two young lioness-wannabes thought they could outsmart me..._' Minerva thought, a half-amused expression appearing on her face for just a moment before her mood turned considerably more sour. _'Although… Miss Granger's behaviour is quite alarming... what was she thinking trying to seduce me like that... and with such a powerful spell...'_ She fidgeted in her seat uncomfortably as dangerously arousing memories from her dreams assaulted her mind.

Before she had time to mull over the situation further, the tip of her wand flashed red, indicating that her spell was finally set in motion.

_"Ginny! I thought you went to bed...wait... I thought we both went to bed... " Hermione said somewhat surprised as she noted they were no longer in their respective beds. _

"_Whut? What's happening?" Ginny looked around, trying to figure out exactly where they were. _

_They could both hear a distinctly Scottish sounding tune play in the far distance as their surroundings slowly materialized. At first the two girls saw nothing more than the grey concrete they were standing on but after some minutes they realized they were standing on a broad road that was lined with trees and grass on both sides. _

_Hermione looked behind her back and noted that this was in fact a one way road, as there was absolutely nothing behind them but pitch black emptiness."Clearly someone wants us to walk forward." she nudged Ginny and they started walking, noting that the music got louder and louder with each step they took. _

_After some minutes of walking silently on the eerie, misty countryside road they saw a building on the left side of the road. As a great, broad shouldered from stumbled out from the entrance they were surprised to hear someone start singing in tune with the music.__***** (see author's note at the beginning for link)**_

"_**Well a Scotsman clad in kilt left a bar on evening fair  
>And one could tell by how he walked that he drunk more than his share"<strong>_

_Hermione looked dumbfounded as the man, clad in nothing but a kilt stumbled off the road, not more than a few dozen feet away from them, without noticing them. Looking at Ginny she raised an eyebrow at the girl's mortified expression. "What is it?"' _

"_**He fumbled round until he could no longer keep his feet  
>Then he stumbled off into the grass to sleep beside the street"<strong>_

"_What do you mean what is it? Don't you know this song?" Ginny asked in disbelief. _

"_No I don't think so". Hermione replied, focusing on the lyrics, trying to place the song. 'Sounds a bit Scottish...' _

"_**Ring ding diddle diddle I de oh ring di diddly I oh  
>He stumbled off into the grass to sleep beside the street"<strong>_

"_Well... lets just say we're in for some nasty surprises I think..." Ginny said. _

"_**About that time two young and lovely girls just happend by  
>And one says to the other with a twinkle in her eye"<strong>_

_Suddenly as if possessed Hermione, entirely against her will, started singing as well, with a perfect Scottish accent. _

"_**See yon sleeping Scotsman so strong and handsome built  
>I wonder if it's true what they don't wear beneath the kilt" <strong>_

_Inwardly, Ginny groaned. 'Oh gods, no...this can't be happening' _

"_WHAT THE HELL DID I JUST SAY?" Hermione yelped as she regained control over her vocal chords for a moment. _

_Despite herself Ginny burst out laughing at the absurdity of the situation. "Oh just wait and you'll see." _

"_**Ring ding diddle diddle I de oh ring di diddly I oh  
>I wonder if it's true what they don't wear beneath the kilt" <strong>_

_Hermione's eyes grew abnormally large as she involuntarily continued singing the lyrics of the hitherto unknown song. What terrified her even more was that she and Ginny closed in on the man lying on the ground as if that was the most natural thing in the world. As they got closer they realized that the man was indeed rather handsomely built, with broad shoulders and a muscular chest, long flowing black hair and wearing nothing but his kilt, his chest uncovered. He was sprawled on the ground, seemingly unconscious. _

"_**They crept up on that sleeping Scotsman quiet as could be  
>Lifted up his kilt about an inch so they could see" <strong>_

_When the unknown voice started singing again, Hermione thought she would faint. Somewhat relieved that she seemed to be in control of her voice again she squeaked "Ginny... tell me we're not going to... to..." she couldn't finish her question because to her utter dismay Ginny's hand was already in motion. _

"_I'm sorry... I guess we are" Ginny said helplessly. _

"_**And there behold, for them to see, beneath his Scottish skirt  
>Was nothing more than God had graced him with upon his birth"<strong>_

"_EW GROSS!" Hermione yelped in disgust, not wanting to see what she was compelled to look at by some unknown force. 'Gods, we must be under the Imperius curse...' she thought. _

"_**Ring ding diddle diddle I de oh ring di diddly I oh  
>Was nothing more than God had graced him with upon his birth"<strong>_

_By now Ginny was laughing her head off at both the impossibility of the situation as well as her best friend's reaction. _

"_**They marveled for a moment, then one said we must be gone  
>Let's leave a present for our friend, before we move along"<strong>_

_This time it was Ginny who started singing, partially of her own accord, understanding that they would not be able to overcome this nightmare of a dream and hoped that going along with it might help. _

"_**As a gift they left a blue silk ribbon, tied into a bow  
>Around the bonnie star, the Scots kilt did lift and show" <strong>_

_To both witch's surprise, the moment the deed was done they could feel a short, piercing pain in their navels, and recognized it as the familiar pull of a portkey. _

_Once they landed Hermione exclaimed incredulously "YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME! HIS... HIS... PENIS WAS A PORTKEY?" _

"_Indeed it was." Came the reply from a disembodied voice. Both girls jumped to their feet in surprise and spun around only to be greeted by the familiar form of their formidable Head of House. _

_'Oh gods, Minerva!' Hermione thought, mortified, immediately understanding that this was the older witch's revenge after she figured out what they had been up to. _

"_The only thing I detest about the Influenced Dream spell is that it can backfire SO easily..." Minerva said in a very self-satisfied tone. _

_Hermione and Ginny looked at each other in stunned silence, which was only broken by the uncharacteristic laughter of the stern professor. Both girls turned to face her once again just in time to see her wand move and a moment later Hermione realized that she was suddenly alone with her professor as Ginny vanished into thin air in front of her very eyes. _

"_Now my dear... I do believe we had an unfinished conversation last time we met..." Minerva said with a feral glint in her eye as she stepped closer to the suddenly nervous young witch. _

To be continued.

_A/N2: If the link at the top doesn't work the song is: The Scotsman by Bryan Bowers - look for it on youtube :) I chose the one that's 2:27 long and has the lyrics in it with a drunk Scotsman drawing in the background._

A/N3: I know... I know, yet again I'm Evil, with a capital E but, hey, I suddenly got so many crazy ideas for this story I just can't resist. Oh but be warned, in the future I am planning on exploring some serious issues in this story as well.


End file.
